Why No Excuse

No Excuse is a blog focusing on poverty and poverty issues in Hamilton, Ontario. Look here daily for news items, events, resources, and a chance to engage in discussions with others on local poverty issues. No Excuse was originally staff-written when it was launched in 2007 as part of the Hamilton Spectator's Poverty Project, but it is now a community blog written by people who come from all walks of city life, but share a deep concern for poverty issues. See "Who Are We" for more information about our authors.

August 2009

August 28, 2009

As mentioned in an earlier post, we need more affordable housing. It can and should be built.A quicker way to make housing more affordable would be through the provision of a housing benefit.

What is a housing benefit?A housing benefit would be available to all low income Ontarians who pay more than 30 per cent of their income on rent. The benefit would pay an average of $119 per month for families and $96 per month for singles and childless couples.

How would it work?A housing benefit would: —Pay 75 per cent of the difference between actual rent paid and 30 per cent of income. —Not be clawed back for social assistance recipients. —Be paid directly to the tenant. —Vary to reflect rents in different communities.

The Daily Bread Foodbank and the Metcalf Foundation, which have been working on a housing benefit, offer an example:Monica works full time at the grocery store earning minimum wage. With a total monthly income of $2,062, she finds it difficult to pay her $800/month rent and afford food for her two children on a regular basis. With the new housing benefit, she would see an increase in income of $136 per month.Here’s how it’s calculated. With her income, her rent should be $618.60 (30 per cent of $2,062). The difference between what she should pay and what she is paying is $181.40 ($800 minus $618.60). Then take 75 per cent of that $181.40 and apply that $136.05 housing benefit to her income.

How would a housing benefit help?A housing benefit would be an important tool during the recession as it:—Would improve housing affordability at a time when people are losing their jobs, being moved to part time or are retraining. —May prevent people from having to spend assets to qualify for welfare. —Extends assistance to the working poor. —Puts money in people’s pickets which is spent in the local economy.

Have your sayWhat do you think about the proposed housing benefit? Would it help you? Would it be good for the community? If you support the housing benefit let the government know.

You can also tell the Minister of Housing we need a housing benefit in Ontario. He is in Hamilton for an affordable housing consultation on Thursday Sept. 10th (6:30-9:30 p.m.) at the Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Resurrection (821 Upper Wentworth).

Photo taken from cincyproject’s Flicker photostreamhttp://www.flickr.com/people/cincyproject/

Fun radio and television commercials such as the popular “most wonderful time of the year” jingle remind us that it is almost back to school time once again. For many children and their parents it is a chance for a fresh start: kids look forward to a new school year and purchasing new clothes and new school supplies. School supplies are essential for learning. Unfortunately, many families in our community don’t have enough money to purchase school supplies for their children. In Hamilton, nearly one in four children are growing up in low income households. Job losses caused by the current economic recession has made this year more difficult than ever. Families in receipt of social assistance no longer receive the annual back to school allowance.Many organizations in Hamilton are working to make a difference and to provide children with the supplies and support they need to learn. TrueCity churches — a movement of dozens of congregations in the Hamilton area — are partnering with KidsFest Canada, the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction, Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board and the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board.

Last year, through working together, 2,250 back packs were provided to schools across Hamilton. Brian Warren — a two time Grey Cup winner and the Founder of Kids Fest Canada — was in Hamilton this week to pack the backpacks that will go to hundreds of kids across the City. Warren and his organization have achieved phenomenal results in engaging the business community, faith organizations and service clubs towards ensuring that kids are provided with the essentials for learning. Hamilton residents who are able can also help by 1) Securely donating online through Kidsfest Canada (specify “Hamilton Backpack Challenge” on the comment section of the donation page). 2) Give gifts in kind of school supplies (contact the TrueCity office at 905-296-1426 or info@truecity.ca 3) Volunteer to deliver backpacks to schools on Wednesday, September 2 — contact Esther at 905-296-1426 for more information.Parents who are interested in finding out how their kids might receive a backpack should talk to their school principal, as the backpacks will be distributed directly through the schools.

August 24, 2009

There was a time when you could pretty much find affordable rental housing in Hamilton even if your income was low.In the early ’90s, rent for a one bedroom apartment averaged $400 per month. The amount unattached people living on assistance received for shelter was $414.

Families fared better. Two bedrooms went for $522 on average. The shelter allowance was $707 per month for a single parent with two children.

Here are the comparable figures from today:

Average Rent Shelter Allowance Difference

Unattached

Individual $630 for a one bedroom $349 ($281)

Lone mother and

2 children $750 for a two bedroom $595 ($155)

This injustice results from what some would call government policies, although a dictionary definition envisions policies having rational outcomes. These outcomes are not rational.The Rae government (1990–95) made improvements in assistance levels which enhanced housing opportunities. Harris undid that and then some. As the numbers demonstrate, nothing much has changed on McGuinty’s watch. Expectations are low that any significant appropriate adjustments will be made in the near future.

Consultation in HamiltonThe provincial government is now in the middle of consulting about affordable housing with a meeting in Hamilton Sept. 10. The government should build more affordable housing, that’s for sure. But it should also make existing rental housing more affordable. A Housing Benefit could do that.Such a benefit would pay an average of $119 per month for families and $96 per month for singles and childless couples. It would be available to all low income Ontarians who pay more than 30 per cent of their income on rent.This could help until the day when social assistance rates and minimum wages begin to reflect the real cost of living. The minister needs to hear concrete ideas like this.

August 19, 2009

Everyone is different when it comes to neuromuscular diseases, but I will try to explain my dealings with MS (multiple sclerosis). Perhaps it will challenge some of the assumptions people make about those with disabilities and what they should or shouldn’t be able to do. Neuromuscular diseases are invisible, like poverty, and the two are often linked.Each week, things get a bit stranger and more difficult for me. I feel as if most of my time is spent living in a twilight zone. My body behaves in ways I could never imagine.It is an ongoing struggle each day, all day to figure out how to control how my body functions. In fact I cannot control how it functions. Instead I try to figure out how to cope with symptoms I am never ready for. Some days, I experience all my symptoms through the day, changes popping up within hours and suddenly changing again. I need a pattern at least so I can work around what does and does not work. There is no pattern anymore.Symptoms range from loss of sight to loss of voice to loss of control over my right leg and arm. Will I be able to speak? Can I say every word I think? Will my speech be clear or rambled?There is always pain, screaming pain that can only be dulled by a dozen or more different pills twice a day, with a few scattered through the hours to make me believe I can almost function.When I am completely anesthetized from the pain, I think I can actually function enough to walk, or even ride my bike. Riding my bike was a pleasant surprise for me, it lifts my soul to a higher level and frees me from the attitudes I experience when I must use my wheelchair.But every time I actually do these two ordinary things, I pay dearly the next day or more. I tell myself, I only live because of the drugs. I only push the pain back enough to pretend I am nearly normal.Of course, I never appear normal to others. I get hyper, and sometimes aggressive, a trait picked up to push past my layers of pain and brain dullness. It’s like the adrenalin rush you need when wounded in a situation that won’t allow weakness. My IQ used to be much higher and it is frustrating to know I cannot tap into full use of my brain anymore. The worst is the loss of that part of my brain that let me drown in my passions for music and art. I’ve spent years where I could not even pick up my guitar, let alone play it — and I played music for my living most of my life. Playing music wasn’t just a fun way to earn money, it was a way to soothe my soul. I need to feel the fret board under my hand. I miss the patterns of scales that drove away the stress of the day. I need to play.I also miss being able to draw. Somehow there was a link damaged in my brain that used to find a path from my mind’s vision to my hand. I discovered that I had reverted to the drawing ability I had at the age of 10.Things are very surprising dealing with MS. I never know what to expect and when. I never can make an appointment and expect to keep it. I find myself frightened to go out because I don’t want to go through an “episode” in public. I have been lucky to find ways around what my body won’t do, but as time passes, the symptoms become more surprising and more painful.One of the reasons I wanted to produce radio was because it was a way to demand more from myself; a way to pull talents from my past and keep using them before I lost control of everything.I needed a deadline to aim for, so I wouldn’t lose the ability to say words. But as time passes the disease always wins. I am thankful for the drugs I manage to get. Without them I would be alive in hell. With them I can live alone, get food and pretend I am almost normal.I write this mostly to try to explain the unexplainable, to make people who look at me and smirk or comment just loud enough for me to be aware of what they think. I suggest you pick up 100 pounds in a sack, sling it on your back and spend the day walking up a slight hill. Or put both your arms out full to the sides and never, ever allow them to fall down, no matter how much they burn, and you might get close to the pain I live with.Sit in a wheelchair and spend hours feeling every crack in the sidewalk and the road radiate up your spine. Spend the entire day in a wheelchair, only three feet high, and let the stream of traffic spew their pollutants into your face when you go to get food. But also know this – each and ever day will be like this, some aspects worse than others. And then deal with the looks you see on people’s faces and feel the sting of insult when they confirm that you’re not smart enough to be given the same respect you get when you stand up and walk around.And for those who wonder how someone who must use a wheelchair gets to walk around for a couple of hours, it’s the drugs I take to mask the pain and stop the muscle spasms for those few hours that allow me to do this. But even those can’t stop the pain and burning spasms from returning. If I push myself past my limits, I run the risk of turning into a drooling incoherent mess in front of them.I hope this open window into my world helps make people think and thank God they do not have to deal with it.

August 07, 2009

Earlier this year I attended a conference hosted by the Migrant Worker Family Resource Centre where I learned a lot about temporary workers — temporary residents who enter Canada to work and are issued a work permit. There are four different programs for temporary workers. The two best known are the Live-In-Caregiver and the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Programs. Ninety-one-thousand temporary workers were in Ontario at the end of December 2008, up 55 per cent in the past five years. A light was shone on program shortcomings in May when federal MP Ruby Dhalla’s “nanny problems” became news. Media reports subsequently maintained Dhalla was “cleared.”“In order to obtain permanent residence status, live-in caregivers — as they are called — must work for two out of the first three years that they are in Canada. There is no flexibility. And if a worker does not meet the requirement, then her application for permanent residence is turned down,” according to Lorne Waldman, a Toronto lawyer who specializes in immigration law, Toronto Star May 18.In addition to low wages, there are other issues with these programs. · Rules and regulations split up families and can lead to sub-standard housing due to lack of monitoring. · Limiting workers to one employer leaves them vulnerable to abuse. · It is difficult to regulate recruitment agencies who often charge excessive fees. · There is a lack of legislation and monitoring services to catch abusive employers. · Workers contribute to Employment Insurance and Canada Pension Plan but seldom get benefits.“Justicia 4 Migrant Workers reported that migrant workers contribute over $11 million per year to a government fund they have no legal right to access if they become unemployed,” according to Repatriation without Representation by Ronnie Shuker.At Queen’s Park, there is action. In March MPP Mike Colle (Lib) tabled a private members bill to initiate some regulation. The government quickly adopted it as its own. A consultation paper came out July 2. Responses are due Aug. 21. Does this short consultation offer hope that the government is ready to move ahead and has a clear idea where it is going? Some Toronto groups have prepared a submission for the consultation addressing concerns identified above and more. Hamilton has 1,758 temporary workers — the third most in the province — according to Citizenship and Immigration Canada. I’m hoping that people with experience in this area will respond to the Ministry of Labour.